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Preparation Day – the Other Forgotten Day

Friday evenings always bring fond memories of Sabbaths at home when I was a kid. We always had our Friday rituals even though they changed from time to time. We would play family games, or go on drives when I was little. Later, I remember we would get all the chores and baths done and groceries bought for the week and then would get a pizza, and bring it home to enjoy with the family, as the sun went down. In the summer we could get in an episode of “Benson” along with our pizza, before the Sabbath began. Tulsa Adventist Academy, the school I attended, let out early on Fridays so we could go home and prepare for the Sabbath. This was in accordance with the counsel we had been given from the Spirit of Prophecy.

“On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.

We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated, holy time. Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss even in temporal things.

There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul. In a humble spirit, “confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” James 5:16.

Before the Sabbath begins, the mind as well as the body should be withdrawn from worldly business. God has set His Sabbath at the end of the six working days, that men may stop and consider what they have gained during the week in preparation for the pure kingdom which admits no transgressor. We should each Sabbath reckon with our souls to see whether the week that has ended has brought spiritual gain or loss.” (Ellen White, Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 6, p. 356.)

Later in life I decided that not all of this counsel was practical. Back in the day this was written baths were a lot of work, hauling in water and all. Today you can take a shower just at the turn of the knob, which to me could easily be done on the Sabbath, without causing too much work. Cooking on the Sabbath does not require so much work either I thought.

While that may be a justifiable argument, the fact is, that if we do not make a big deal out of preparing for the Sabbath, then the Sabbath will not be a big deal either. While it may not take as much effort to prepare for the Sabbath nowadays, I think we lose some of the specialness of the day by not preparing more. We rob ourselves of a special blessing when we forget the other forgotten day besides the Sabbath, which is the preparation day.

“We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated, holy time. Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss even in temporal things.” {6 Vol. Testimonies to the Church, P. 356.}

I remember Sabbath evenings before the sun went down Saturday night, my family would have worship as we closed the Sabbath. My mind would wander from the Bible reading to the Tulsa Roughnecks soccer game that we would be going to as soon as the sun went down. Since all secular things had been put away for the day, I was excited to get to the game. Looking back, I think it made both the Sabbath and the game more special. Each had their proper place in my routine. Sure my mind should have been all absorbed in the family worship I was in, while it was still Sabbath, and not the game I would be going to after sundown, but hey, I was just a kid.

Even so, today I log on my computer on Sabbaths to read emails or check my Facebook, and I can’t help but see the game scores on my home page. While I tell myself I can’t help but see, and it is not a sin to just glance at the scores, still, my mind goes back to my childhood when things were more black and white, and I miss those days when Sabbath was a big deal. I am not saying it is not a big deal now, it is. I mean when it was more special because we put more thought and effort into those holy hours. The point of me sharing this is this: While we live in a time where it may be easier to prepare for the Sabbath, and we may argue that maybe some of the old rules do not apply any more – i.e. taking baths before sundown – I think the Sabbath would be more special to us if we would make a big deal out of preparing for it.

The greater the preparation, the greater the blessing. I believe the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are still relevant today. Let’s not just remember the Sabbath day. Let’s also remember the preparation day. If we do, there are some special memories still to come!

About William Earnhardt

William Earnhardt has been a Bible Worker, literature evangelist and lay pastor in Oklahoma and Texas, before coming to the Tampa Bay area, where he has been a Bible instructor and lay pastor for the past 11 years. He has also held revivals and evangelism seminars, as well as soul winning workshops from Peru to Connecticut. You can find William's study guides and devotionals at williamdearnhardt.com

Comments

Preparation Day – the Other Forgotten Day — 37 Comments

Your experience sounds similar to mine, almost in every way, except the part about baths being taken. But the buckets of water definitely need to be full on Friday, since we had to carry them from the spring. (In the tropics, baths are taken every day, no exceptions) Thanks for sharing. It definitely brought back memories of Fry-days (we called it), when the fish or chicken was fried, so it could be preserved for Sabbath lunch, since there was limited cooking on that day (only breakfast). As you rightly said, the greater the preparation, the more special the day. As a University student, it became even more special, since the strain of the heavy books and the long study hours was off! Have a happy Sabbath this week.

I so agree that the more preparations for Sabbath, the greater the Sabbath blessing. In our family we have a certain meal that is our Friday night meal- tacos-which makes Sabbath extra special. My advice to parents with children still at home - do all in your power to make Sabbath extra special with meals and activities. As they leave home they will not forget those special things that were done. Sabbath keeping can be such a blessing if done in the correct spirit.

Memories of my childhood days come back when I read your article about the preparation day which is almost forgotten. Of course I have not forgotten that Friday is the final preparation day for the Sabbath because even now I am doing it but not for my family but for the hospital dietary that I am task to manage. Friday is always the busiest day for me since I have to see that everything, particularly the supplies and staffing for the Sabbath is ready before the sun sets on Friday. I only wish that I could leave the office earlier so that I could welcome the Sabbath together with my family.

Thanks for your thoughts William. In the early part of your 'preparation day' account I had to go back and check to see that it wasn’t written by one of my own siblings such were the similarities. When I was little Friday was very much a preparation day for us too.

After coming home from school and completing all our chores one of which included 'combing' the carpet, with an actual fine tooth comb (my father was a tailor and so much thread became embedded in the carpet over a period of a week it was too much for a Hoover, lol. With so many siblings we all had to have our baths before Sabbath as well. In fact often time a lot of our preparation was done on Thursdays; especially in the winter as Sabbaths arrived so early on the Friday.

I think it’s really important for parents to make a big effort not only to prepare for Sabbath but also to make it ‘special’. I remember in particular coming home from school on a Friday and mum would have I nice pot of soup with dumplings or maybe some hominy corn porridge. A little later we would all settle down for family worship. Now as a kid I never always enjoyed the seemingly endless rounds of hymns, or the fact that we had to go through all the Sabbath schools lessons starting with the Adult and working down, but we all came alive for the bible quizzes at the end.

But Sabbath at home as a kid was a very long time ago and now married I struggle to establish that pattern or discipline of preparation in my own home, and the harmony of my home I believe has been negatively affected as a result. With modern appliances like rice cookers or bread makers where all you have to do is pour in the dry ingredients, press a button and the next day, Sabbath morning, you have a nice fresh loaf of bread, makes it seem like preparation is not necessary. I remember saying this to my mum and she reminded me that it’s not so much about how long these take to do, but more about the fact that you sought to honour God by making the activities of Sabbath different from the other days in the week.

God gave the children of Israel a practical demonstration of how they should prepare for the Sabbath when they were instructed to collect manna in the wilderness. They could collect it every day of the week, a double portion on Friday, but none on Sabbath. That for me is a simple but powerful way God chose to illustrate how the Sabbath should be different.

I have not yet managed to get back to the routine of Sabbath preparation I experienced when a child but I am striving towards it. A really big factor in preparation which hasn’t really been focused on yet is mental preparation. The idea of a period of time when we suddenly down tools and ‘do no work’ is an easy concept to understand and embrace but it’s the other part of ‘not doing thine own pleasure’ that can mess us up.

I went through a period of time when I cut out secular media, TV, movies etc, and replaced those influences with spiritual ones throughout the week; reading my bible, spirit of prophesy and the like. A strange thing started to happen. When Sabbath came it wasn’t such a shock to my system, because in a way I’d been walking closer with God all week, so the idea of putting aside my weekly concerns wasn’t so difficult. I was no longer fighting the images or scenes from the movies or sitcoms that would play just behind my eyelids whenever I closed my eyes to pray and I was no longer impatient to run out of Sabbath at the other end and would choose rather to linger a little. For me the Sabbath then became a celebratory crowning to a week long experience of walking with God rather than an inconvenient artificial obligation that was simply putting a big gap between me and the more exciting entertainment I was itching to get back too.

I couldn't agree more with you on the mental and spiritual preparation as opposed to the mechanical switch from 'activity' days to 'rest' day, which unfortunately is what most of us do today. We are so absorbed in the cares of the world - be they the hustle to get by or the pleasures that so often engulf us - that we are literally "cut off" from the source of our life: GOD.
If we followed the admonition of Moses the servant of God, we would not find the contrast between the Sabbath and the ordinary days so sharp as to disorient us on the preparation day.
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest with them in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house, and upon thy gates.' (Deut. 6:4-9)
If indeed we made God's presence in our lives as ubiquitous as Moses intended, we would ALWAYS be walking in God's presence - all the days of our lives. In that case, the Sabbath rest would only come as a bonus - with all the attendant blessings. And the facility of modern life will all to clearly go to enhance and enrich our experience of the Holy day, a delight, and a pleasure: because we are used to not doing our pleasure even on 'secular' days.
In Africa where we worship football (soccer), the tendency to dash from vesper service or even skip it altogether is such an indictment on the spirituality of God's children. The Voice of Inspiration has told us that football will in the last days be such a global idol believers could very easily fall prey to its alluring glamour and prestige. Even though I am personally not guilty of this one distraction, Heaven knows in what many other areas of life I fall rather so short.
Let us learn to mold our lives in a manner that the Sabbath comes to us as a matter of course, prepared for it well before it arrives, and savor the lingering blessings that follow its passage after dusk.

Wow..this is my experience as well. i hafto get into the routine of preparation day for the children sake otherwise they will dread it. I have began, shunning out the tv out of my life and taking up more reading and also reading more christian books, bible, spirit of prophecy and once in awhile check out christian movies with a biblical message. And the sabbath keeping has been more enjoyable and less of a shock or a moment to dread. Only the preparation day i need to incorporate into my schedule better.

The essence of Sabbath Preparation should be taken from the story about Jesus, Martha, and Mary. The main thing is that nothing should steal away your time and concentration as you fellowship with the Lord.

While Jesus was fellowshipping with the others, Mary took the time to get involve by forsaking the other household duties (at the time of fellowship) and listen to Jesus. Martha on the other hand, was still involved in those same duties while Jesus was fellowshipping with the others. Martha asked Jesus for clarification as to what Mary should have been doing at that moment. Jesus confirmed that Mary was doing the right thing and Martha was not.

Anything (mental or physical) that would distract or steal away the time (5 min, 10 min, etc) from having fellowship with God is breaking the Sabbath. What is fellowshipping with God? It is doing those same activities that God pointed out to Moses as to who God is: acts of mercy, benevolence activities, praises and adorations to God, long suffering, forgiving, etc. Even helping others that are less fortunate which involves physical labor is doing good. All these are godly, but if the acts are self-centered – for pleasure and for gain (money or fame), then they are ungodly.

True Christians should prepare for the Sabbath both mentally and physically – they are to let no activity steal away their fellowship or concentration with God and His purpose for their lives.

Your post was a blessing to me William. Like many others who have commented here, Fridays were very special days of preparation at my home which I believe made the Sabbath day itself a delight as in it we could get up a little later than usual because there was very little to do in the mornings.

I remember my grandparents ran their household like an enterprise. All their children had their huts on the same compound as them and we worked together in the fields and on the homesteads. We were organized into teams with us the girls working with a particular aunt and the boys with an uncle to carry out the different duties that were necessary for the household to function. It was a rural setting in Zimbabwe and everyday from Sunday to Friday had its fair share of labor.

But as a kid I always enjoyed the Fridays. We all came back from the fields earlier than other days at around mid-day. those who were on the water fetching beat would make sure that all the drums of water were filled up (There were ox-drawn and donkey-drawn carts for that and for fetching firewood). The yard sweepers would make sure that it was swept clean and all stuff in it's rightful place.Those in charge of the clothing ironed and pressed everybody's clothing and polished the shoes ready for Sabbath. The food preparers went to the fields and brought in the crop in season to be cooked for the Friday meal and the Sabbath food.

We had no refrigeration and the climate was hot most of the year but our Sabbath food never spoiled. My most favorite time of year was January to April when there were fresh maize, pumpkins, sweet canes, and much more from the fields. Sabbath was the day when we ate really special food, prepared in a special way.

My memories of sabbath now that I think of it felt like Christmas day came by every week. We always cooked more than we would need and invariably there were always strangers to entertain and share our food with every Sabbath. We wore our best clothes in it and above all, I enjoyed the singing that we did. Friday evenings was time to sing together as a family and from among us as a family, several singing groups emerged which gave special items of music at home on Friday evenings as well as at church.

Even if we may not have understood everything about the Sabbath as kids, we certainly looked forward to it and today no matter where I am, when the sabbath approaches, a special feeling comes and reminds me that I ought to get ready to rest and meet with my God.

Thanks for reminding me about preparation day. I still have my kids at home and by God's grace from now onwards, I will make a big deal out of preparation so as to make the Sabbath a memorable delight for my kids.

Dear Momusa, I've read your story for the second time, I so enjoyed it, and envied your family's "heaven on earth". It sounds like a lovely place to grow up, and the idea of spending Sabbath with family and loved ones from week to week in such a setting... every child should have that experience. God bless.

Preparation Day is still important for us to pass on to the next generation. The discipline of learning to prepare before Friday night is a lesson that will help in other areas of our lives as well. It will also help us appreciate our Sabbath rest, which will become a sweeter more welcomed day. I also reflect on the parable of the ten virgins, the 5 who were prepared and the 5 who were not. I rather be like the 5 who took the time in advance to gather the oil for their lamps. Similarly we should be preparing for Christ's return.

Thanks William for the timely reminder. Its true that we all have good memories of how preparation used to be. I remember how, when in the university I longed for Friday so I could keep off all the books and assignments and head to the Friday vespers. I know, and do believe, that its possible through Christ Who strengthens us, to reform in this and definitely our Sabbath rest will be wonderful. May God help us.

Jim, that is an excellent question! And this is a very good place to ask it.

Although I have not done a thorough study of this particular subject myself, I just recently read the conclusion from someone who had studied the matter: He concluded that the seventh-day Sabbath was unique in that it was preceded by a "preparation day." I'll have to find the source again, but perhaps someone else can help out.

With the lack of evidence to the contrary, it seems the burden of proof would lie on someone who said that the sabbaths connected with various festivals were also preceded by preparation days. In my personal Bible study I have not run across such evidence.

Jim, I think we can assume that when God commanded that no work was to be done on a certain day that the people would have prepared for that in some way. The question is, however, did God ever specify a preparation day preceding a Sabbath other than the seventh day Sabbath?

Other than the instructions given concerning the manna in Ex 16 which were about preparing for the seventh day Sabbath I can find none. In fact, the day before the Sabbath is not even named until we get to the New Testament. None of the feast Sabbaths in Lev 23 which lists the feasts calls for a day of preparation during those times.

In Nehemiah 13 when the children of Israel were having trouble with the Sabbath again after the captivity Nehemiah simple ordered the gates to the city to be closed just prior to the setting of the sun (Nehemiah 13:19) which means that normal business could be done during the day before the Sabbath. So even then there doesn't seem to be a big to do about a preparation day even for the Sabbath.

In the New Testament we know about the preparation day from texts such as Mat 27:62; Mk 15:42;Lk 23:54; Jn 19:14, 31, 42 where the day is considered, "the Jews' Preparation Day" (Jn. 19:42 NKJV) and, "the day before the Sabbath" (Mk. 15:42 NKJV). Because Jesus was crucified on the preparation day and the next day was to be not only the Sabbath but also the Passover it was also, "the Preparation Day of the Passover" (Jn. 19:14 NKJV). Since the Sabbath was based on a seven day weekly cycle and the feast days were based on a lunar calendar where the day came at different days during the week the two days just happen to coincide on the same day at the end of Christ's ministry. We need also to note here that the Passover lamb was to be chosen four days prior to the Passover (Ex 12:3, 6) and killed, roasted, and eaten in the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Ex 12:6-8) so there really wasn't a preparation day as such for the Passover.

Very timely post brother William. Practical ways of preparation can be listed such as: Buying gas to avoid buying and selling on His holy day (Neh.13:15-22), Having our Sabbath clothes washed and ready to go, and a host of other things. The main thing is to avoid any normal work or worldly business that we would do on the regular "work" days, the 6 days of the week. Then we have the spiritual aspects such as not speaking our own words(Isaiah 58:13-14), meaning talking predominantly about the Lord and what He has done for us during the week. The ballgame or politics should and must be avoided if we are to receive His blessings as outlined in the above Isaiah quote. Often I have found at our church lunches I must steer the conversation around because they want to talk about all kinds of things under the sun and not the things of the Lord. The way I look at it is that we have 6 full days to do our worldly business and conversations, let us give Him back ONE day that He requests, and do it His way.

Hello Rob, I concur about conversations on the Sabbath. My friends who are not of the faith, one in particular, will make sure to call before sunset on Friday because they know, unless it is an emergency, I will not entertain their calls. I also had the experience of "preparation day" growing up, and hearing my mother say, "Guard the edges of the Sabbath" so that we wouldn't wait until the actual time of sunset on Friday to turn off television and such, and Sabbath evenings, wanting the actual time of sunset to mean the end of Sabbath. Thank you Momma for teaching me about preparing for the Sabbath and keeping it and "guarding its edges". I look forward to seeing you again in the Kingdom where we can worship together once again on the Holy Sabbath.

Wow how that story has hit home , via the holy spirit it bubbled up a child like joy inside of me!
Thank God for his grace and mercy. This story takes me to the 5 foolish virgins and their attitude compared to the other 5 . When Jesus comes i want to be ready not just in mind but spirit also. I also should prepare in a likewise manner. God bless adventist Sabbath school teaching cause that's exactley what it does "It TEACHES".....
Kind Regards
Macca

Thanx for sharing, you just driven my mind back then in the days i was kid. Sabbath preparation day used to be the best day ever..... Especial at that time our family gathered for the Sabbath welcoming worship.... It was great, kids we were given time to memorize Bible verses, and sang the songs we loved. Nowadays we ought to be much more of great concern of the Sabbath prep day, as we are so much into a globalization world, facebook, twitter, whatsapp and whatsoever of these connections, they should not draw us away from the holy thoughts, things must be finished before the friday sunset. If we make it our daily routine Sabbath will gain that special essence ever. When i look at my dads deeds it encourages me that it is all possible because as to him all his phone and whatsoever outside connections are put offline till the holy hours are over. Lets keep making prep day wonderful that we enter sabbath with great minds

Thank you for sharing about the importance of preparation day-Friday. Being an Adventist recently have allowed me to live a simple easy life especially on preparation & Sabbath day. I try to reach home early after work on Fridays and prepare my kids cloths while my husband prepares our meals. Its so much easier than when we were attending church on Sundays. Our 4 children look forward to family worship and Sabbath schools and especially when "mummy" does not have have to go to work on Sabbaths. I thank God for the Sabbath because he has shown me that life is not so complicated when we rest and worship him on his special day!!

I am in a secular university,every time its friday,it is a relief to me. It also reminds me how we had special meals and special preparations each friday at my rural home at kisii-kenya. Thank you for the reminder that still preparation is pertinent in our days despite the technological inventions. Happy sabbath

Dear Soloe, I don't know where you live, but in case you are living in a part of the world where it sometimes gets very hot, and there is no air conditioning, this is my opinion:
If water is freely available, it would seem to me that "delight" in the Sabbath would be greatly enhanced by not just taking one bath or shower, but by taking several. Dips in a river (that's not crocodile infested 😉 ) would be even better, I would think.

For those taking only one bath a week (as was customary in many areas in times past), taking a bath on Friday before the sun sets is most appropriate in order to feel clean and be clean to greet the Sabbath.

For those accustomed to taking daily baths or showers, it seems to me that there is no spiritual benefit in not taking one on Sabbath. We are supposed to be especially clean on Sabbath as we spend time with the Lord of the Universe, not especially sweaty or dirty. 😉

Sabbath is one of my favorite topics! I have enjoyed reading the post and the comments.

When I first became a SDA, I was a young mother living in a SDA community. I loved how we had vespers every Friday evening at 6:30 PM no matter what time the sun set. We sang and sang, and I learned so many beautiful hymns, and we had a short devotional. I loved worships together with other people. Sabbath was a day of rest. No one worked, there weren't IPhones and computers, and people talked about appropriate Sabbath ideas. After church, most people took walks in nature. It was a blessing.

Thirty-three years later, I still love the idea of the Sabbath, and do things in an organized way before the Sabbath: one day laundry; one day shopping for food and other items; one day house cleaning; make necessary phone calls and take care of business matters; and Thursday or Friday do the food preparation for the Sabbath.

I miss sharing the worships to open and close the Sabbath. When I can share them with other people, it is a special blessing. I look forward to the day when from one new moon to another, we shall be keeping the Sabbaths and sharing them together.

A lot of good comments on here and basically most seem to be memories from times long ago when the Sabbath hours were kept a bit differently than they are now. I also have those great childhood memories of Sabbath times with family and in nature. But I also remember those times as a time where works were emphasized in the SDA church probably more than they should have been and as a result many of my generation (40 somethings)left the church seeking freedom from these burdensome rules and regulations of the SDA church. I think a lot of people that left the church and now have come back are more lax on the Sabbath keeping because they associate the Sabbath keeping "rules" of their parents generation with the time when the SDA church was too "pro works" and was not teaching the grace message. So they don't want their kids (our kids, my kids) leaving the church like they did when they felt they could not keep all the regulations correctly and the guilt of not keeping the requirements drove them away. I agree that making the Sabbath a special and distinguishable time from the rest of the week is very important, but I think that different times call for different and more creative ways to do this and what may work for me may not work for another person or family. I see the SDA church being much more tolerant in this area (for example one family may feel going out to lunch after church is much less work for everyone where another family may feel they could not do that and pre-cook all their meals on Friday}. The details of how each family chooses to keep Sabbath should be somewhat flexible as long as the basic components of church (worship), work cessation (rest) and maybe tithing are adhered to. I appreciated the article and the reflection.

I am one of those who left the church at some point in my youth because of the discrimination I felt due to my parents divorce and my dad and step mom drinking and revelring openly for all to see. I wanted to serve the Lord, but somehow because of the exacting expectations of what an ideal Adventist family was, I was shunned by my peers at the instruction of their parents.So I do resonate with your comment my brother Kevin. Those days were not easy for a teenager from a broken home wanting to serve the Lord. Yet I am thankful that because of the foundation of Adventist teachings that I had had as young child, I could never fully blend in with the world. There was always something that held me back from blending with the world and I found no joy in worship in the many Sunday churches that I tried. So when it comes to my children, I am mindful to make it important to them that no matter what other people think of them or of us as a family, their personal relationship with God comes first and if they depend on Him completely He will show them how to handle those who criticize how they seem to relate with God. It is not to man's traditions that we are to be faithful, it is to God and His law. The hows of our worship will vary from person to person, home to home, and country to country but God's principles of love for God and for neighbor will never change. Those are the principles that should unite us and not divide us. Anything could have hapenned to me when I was out there in the world, and I do not wish any of my children to get out of the safety of God's church.

i ejoyed reading the posts it really brought me back to when my children were young andwe had friday preperation day and that speial friday dinner. by mistake i made haystack or burrito on one friday night and that became our friday night traditional dinnner, all my children friends and some neighbor hood children came to dinner, they are all grown today but stil remember those dinners. one night i changd the mineu and everyone was throughly upset, needless to say i did not change that mineu again. just reading the post makes me happy. the children are gone and it is my husband and myself put still prepare for friday meals and saturday meals and the young people come over for sabbath dinnner. it is truly a pleasure to follow God's commands.

Ours is changeless God(Malachi 3:6) Who when He blesses it is blessed and none can reverse it(Numbers 23:19,20), we know for sure that He blessed the seventh-day and those who keep it holy. Now He has given us things to do on the sabbath, lets not compromise by thinking of today's technology for God already knew about the future but still command us "to do no work". Dont say taking a bath on shower or cooking on cooker is not work, nay! What about poor people who dont have? Lets choose, BLESSING or CURSE!!!

What is quite obvious from reading most of the replies, is that we are all different. In location, in civilizations, in social positions and, most important, age, as well as marital standing. Widowed,single,divorced, etc. There are many activities that are different in a culture that is greatly influenced by technological gadgetry. Preparation for the Sabbath may be entirely different from what used to be. We are governed by ourcircumstances. The result has to be a cessation of, our desires,our concerns,and our focus on self. All of those should be replaced by a focus on GOD.

Thank you so much for the article, which is a great reminder. I need your help;I'm in a secular Ugandan university, how possible is it to prepare food for our church(SDA Students' Church) before sunset Friday because we don't have warmers or ovens to keep the food safe without going bad. I'll be glad to receive your advise.

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